We recently connected with Mason West and have shared our conversation below.

Mason , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I create leadership programs that facilitate young people developing the skills necessary to influence their peers, their government, and their economy as agents of positive and prolific change. Twenty-five years ago, I was the executive director of a neighborhood program where I was tasked with working with law enforcement and community leaders to rid the neighborhood of crime. I then developed social programs to help the community overcome the trauma caused by the cycle of crime.

One of the programs I developed was a math and debate program for fifth grade students. I was able to convince a local college to promise the students college scholarships if they completed my one-year program. All of the students completed the program and excelled in mathematics and debate. The culminating activity was a celebration where the young people received a collection of prizes. When the event was over, I noticed that the students had taken all of their prizes home except for the certificates that promised them full four-year scholarships. I could not understand why they and their parents left the most valuable prize behind.

I later learned that the youth I was engaging did not believe they could ever leave their community to go to college or that they would even survive long enough to go to college. Their families pretty much had the same belief. I realized that they were so marginalized that they hardly left their community for any reason and did not have a vested interest in their government or economy beyond doing what they had to do on a daily basis to survive. That is when I decided to create a program that that would not only give young people exposure to the society beyond their community, but it would give them access and opportunity. It would give them the ability to develop uncommon leadership, innovation, and project management skills so that they could see their potential and their ability to impact their local neighborhood and the global community.

Mason , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I lead a nonprofit organization called Nation Builders Conference, Inc. We specialize in the development of emerging leaders programs for people ages 10 to 22. Our goal is to teach the leadership, human-centered design, and project management skills necessary for a person to create a program or initiative in their local or global community that solves a problem or fulfills a need they have identified.

We create these programs for schools, local governments, and national governments. We have created and conducted international programs in England, Belgium, Spain, Bermuda, and Egypt. We will be launching our next program in Mexico this year. We have also conducted programs for the United States Justice Department and in cities like Atlanta, Birmingham, and Chattanooga.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I have a collection of talents, skills, and experiences that allows me to thrive in different areas. The challenge with this is that it is quite easy to get distracted delving into different opportunities. I learned early that I needed to focus on one thing. I decided to focus on that which would help me create what I desire most in society, systemic change.

I am an educator who has served as a teacher, staff member, and administrator. No matter where I have served, my ultimate goal was for my students to be able to apply what they learn from me and others beyond the four walls of the classroom. I combined what I desired most in society with what I could bring out most in my students. This resulted in my students applying what they learn in the classroom, with uncommon leadership, innovation, and project management skills to solve problems relevant to them in their communities. This led to a niche market of schools who wanted their students to do more than just memorize, corporations who wanted to invest in the development of future employees and entrepreneurs, and government agencies that wanted to help create a new generation of leaders.

My standard for producing emerging leaders with applicable skills and the ability to imagine, innovate, and inspire has helped me build a reputation as an educator, program developer and manager, and change agent. My clientele is small and my market is very specific. However, the path I have chosen has allowed me to do more than I thought I would ever do when I began this journey.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I am not only a teacher. I am also a public speaker. In the past, I did quite well as a preacher and motivational speaker. However, there was a point in my life when I realized that I was motivating others, but I was motivating them to be motivated. The world around them was not changing. The inequitable systems that governed their lives remained. I could provide an injection with powerful words and phrases, which may have benefited an individual within a moment, but I wanted to benefit communities. I realized this could not be done, at least by me, with just a sermon or a speech.

I decided that my greatest power was in the classroom. There were no spotlights in the classroom. I was not flying in, setting things on fire, and flying out. It was a day-to-day grind in some difficult spaces, where there were very little resources, support, and motivation. However, I was able to pour more than words into young people. I was able to help them develop skills and facilitate them leaving the classroom and demonstrating those skills to others as they solved problems.

My students stood before city councils and presented community development plans. They traveled to state capitols and our national capitol and engaged in debate. They were hired to give seminars at conferences for federal agencies, Now I have students conducting programs for U.S. embassies in Egypt, Mexico, Brussels and other countries. I have found a way to transform individual inspiration in the classroom to collective action in the world. The greatest pivot of my life was the decision to leave the moment of motivation and focus on the day-to-day grind of community transformation.

Contact Info:

• Website: nationbuilderslead.com
• Instagram: masonwest3
• Facebook: Mason West III
• Linkedin: Mason West III

Image Credits
Shamica West Bianca Frails